Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. Further, wireless communication technology has evolved from voice-only communications to also include the transmission of data, such as Internet and multimedia content. A user equipment (“UE”) may be configured to establish a connection with different types of networks through the use of wireless communications protocols. Accordingly, based upon the capabilities of the hardware and software of the UE, the connection may be made with these different types of networks. For instance, the network may be a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (“UMTS”) or Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) network for data connectivity, or the network may be a Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”) or Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) network for voice connectivity. Furthermore, each of these networks may utilize different radio access standards, such as evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (“EUTRAN”), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (“UTRAN”), and GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (“GERAN”).
LTE, commonly referred to a “4G LTE,” is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. The LTE standard has been developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”) and is described as a natural upgrade path for carriers using prior generation networks or “legacy” protocols or 2G/3G networks, such as GSM/UMTS protocols and CDMA 2000 1× (e.g., 1×RTT or simply “1×”) wireless communication protocols. In addition, standards are being developed for new 5G networks. Each of these different types of networks and protocols may be termed radio access technologies (“RATs”).
A UE may be configured to communicate wirelessly with a network by associating with a base station (“BS”) of the network. The UE may include a network application that is executed to perform this functionality of joining the network and associating with the BS. The network may operate using a predetermined RAT. When more than one network and/or more than one BS is available for association in a given location of the UE, the UE may connect to any one of these BSs as long as the UE is configured to operate on the corresponding RAT.
Prior to joining a network, the UE may perform a full band scan to identify any available networks at the location that the UE is disposed. However, depending on the geographic location such as a country, the RATs used by the various networks may operate on a wide range of channels (e.g., group of continuous frequencies). The wide range of channels available to the UE may lead to performance issues such as jammer desense, in-band interference, inter-modulation distortion and interference from other bands.